Ninety-two years ago this month the ship of dreams, the Titanic, left Southampton, England for her first big journey. It was April 10th, 1912 and the crowds were being amazed by her size and awed by her beauty, sent up a cheer as she pulled away from the dock. Some were there to wish farewell to loved ones, others had come to catch a glimpse of the most talked about ship of the century.This launch day would be the crowd’s last view of the great ship. Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40 pm April 14th and hit the ocean floor at 2:20 am April 15th. Of the 2,228 souls onboard, only 705 were saved. We can take a moment in this anniversary month to remember all lost souls that day.

That is why I decided to tell you some more on the details of the disaster.

Why did Titanic sink?While the general answer as to why Titanic sank is: "the Ship hit an iceberg;" in fact, the sinking resulted from a whole series of circumstances. Factors that lead to the sinking of the Titanic include: the speed and angle of the impact into the iceberg, the temperature of the water, the quality and makeup of the steel hull in 1912; the unusual position of the ice field during that period, the number and placement of the punctures in the six forward compartments, and the awareness of the crew. While Titanic did hit an iceberg, if it were not for the events leading to and resulting from the actual impact, Titanic probably would not have sunk. "Bad luck" might almost be a more specific conclusion as to why the Ship ultimately sank

Why was Titanic said to be unsinkable and where did the story come from?The Titanic was described in the popular press as "practically unsinkable". This was not unusual – for decades, ships had watertight compartments to limit flooding in case of an accident, and the press used this phrase as a matter of routine for many years. After the Titanic sank, the story of her loss was turned into a modern fable and the original description "practically unsinkable" became just "unsinkable" in order to sharpen the moral of the story. No educated person in 1912 believed that the Titanic was truly unsinkable, but it was difficult to imagine an accident severe enough to send her to the bottom.

Why didn't Titanic carry enough lifeboats?The Titanic’s lifeboat capacity was governed by the British Board of Trade’s rules, which were made in 1894. By 1912, these lifeboat regulations were badly out of date. The Titanic was four times larger than the largest legal classification considered under the eighteen year old rules and so by law was not required to carry more than sixteen lifeboats, regardless of the actual number of people onboard. When she left Southampton, the Titanic actually carried more than the law required: the sixteen lifeboats were supplemented by four additional collapsible boats. The shipping industry was aware that the lifeboat regulations were going to be changed soon and Titanic’s deck space and davits were designed for the anticipated "boats for all" policy, but until the law actually changed, White Star was not going to install them. The decision seems difficult to understand today, but in 1912, the attitude towards accident prevention was much different. At the turn of the century, ship owners were reluctant to exceed the legal minimum because lifeboats took up most of the space on first- and second-class decks. Boats were expensive to purchase, maintain, and affected a ship’s stability. Finally, in the years before the Titanic Disaster, it was felt that the very presence of large numbers of lifeboats suggested that somehow the ship was unsafe. Oddly, the same reluctance showed up as late as the 1950s for cars’ seatbelts. Car makers at that time also didn’t want to install seatbelts because the belts seemed to imply there was something unsafe about the car.

What ships came to the Titanic's rescue and what ships did not?The Titanic’s distress call was received by several ships the night of the disaster including the Carpathia, Mount Temple, Virginian, Baltic, Caronia, Prinz Fredrich Wilhelm, Frankfurt, and the Titanic’s sister ship the Olympic. Initially, several of these ships headed their course towards the collision site, but when it became clear that Carpathia alone would make it to the scene of the accident in reasonable time, they resumed their previous courses. One ship, the Leyland Line’s California was only a few miles distant from the Titanic. The Californian had stopped for the night in pack ice because her Captain felt it too dangerous to proceed through the ice field in the dark. Although fitted with wireless, the Californian’s operator had turned in for the night and missed the distress call. To this day, there are considerable questions why the Californian’s deck officers weren’t paying more attention to rockets and lights seen in the distance.

Did the Titanic have poor quality steel?It is true that the steel used in the Titanic’s construction was inferior to the steel produced today, but to this day nobody has been able to proove that the quality of the steel really had anything to do with the disaster.

Where is the wreck of the Titanic?Titanic's wreck site lies 963 miles northeast of New York and 453 miles southeast of the Newfoundland coastline.

How deep is the wreck?Titanic lies 2.5 miles beneath the ocean surface, where the pressure is 6,000 pounds per square inch.

Can the Titanic be raised?Sadly, even if the technology existed to raise it from the seabed, the wreck is far too fragile to stand the lifting and transportation.

How many survivors are alive today?Three survivors are known to be alive: two living in the UK, one in the US.

Titanic’s story has been told again and again, and serves not only as a memorial but also as a warning against placing unquestioned trust in the power of technology. Hundreds of books have been written about the event, movies produced, plays presented, songs sung, so the disaster with the Titanic will never be forgotten. Tough, none of these well meaning gestures can ever bring back the loved ones lost, or repair the lives shattered by the sinking. But we can take a moment in this anniversary month to remember those who died with the Titanic, as well as the countless others who have sacrificed their lives to powerful and unpredictable seas.

Ninety-two years ago this month the ship of dreams, the Titanic, left Southampton, England for her first big journey. It was April 10th, 1912 and the crowds, dwarfed by her size and awed by her beauty, sent up a cheer as she pulled away from the dock. Some were there to bid their loved ones farewell, others had come to catch a glimpse of the most talked about ship of the century. This launch day would be the crowd’s last view of the great ship. Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40 pm April 14th and hit the ocean floor at 2:20 am April 15th. Of the 2,228 souls onboard, only 705 were saved. We can take a moment in this 'anniversary' month to remember all lost souls that day.

The Titanic, also known as the Ship of Dreams, left Southampton, England, ninety-two years ago this month for her first big journey. It was April 10th, 1912, and the crowds, dwarfed by her size and awed by her beauty, sent up a cheer as she pulled away from the dock. Some people had come to wish their loved ones a save journey and wave them goodbye. Others had come to catch a glimpse of the most infamous ship of the century. This launch day of the great ship, the Titanic, would also be the last of the ship seen by the crowd. The Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11.40 pm on April 14th, 1912, and sank to the ocean floor at 2.20 am the next day. There were 2,228 people on board, of which only 705 were saved. A moment of our time could be used this month in remembrance of all the souls that could not be saved on that tragic day.

Ninety-two years ago this month the ship of dreams, the Titanic, left Southampton, England for her first big journey. It was April 10th, 1912 and the crowds, dwarfed by her size and awed by her beauty, sent up a cheer as she pulled away from the dock. Some were there to wish farewell to loved ones, others had come to catch a glimpse of the most talked about ship of the century. This launch day would be the crowd’s last view of the great ship. Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40 pm April 14th and plunged to the ocean floor at 2:20 am April 15th. Of the 2,228 souls onboard, only 705 were saved.